t is a commonly accepted fact that drug abuse is on the rise in India. However, the true extent of the proliferation of drugs in this country will surprise many. According to estimates, there are approximately 70 million drug abusers in India. Data on drugs seizure by the Narcotics Control Bureau shows that consumption and smuggling of synthetic drugs, which are much more dangerous and addictive than natural ones, has been steadily increasing while that of natural drugs has been decreasing.

WHAT lengths would you go to for pain relief?

One Gracemere man resorted to using cannabis after a workplace injury left him with a fused spine.

Shaun Douglas Hoad was in Rockhampton Magistrates Court yesterday, pleading guilty to several charges including possessing dangerous drugs (cannabis) and utensils.

The court heard Hoad, who had to seek permission to stand during the proceedings due to his injury, was found with the items in his residence on October 16 after police executed a search warrant.

In their search, officers found a water pipe, two scales, two grinders, two loose hypodermic syringes and six grams of cannabis.

Police prosecutor Constable Manon Barwick said the items were found scattered around the house.

Court bid to decriminalise use of cannabis and allow recreational use.

The Balkan country of Macedonia may end up being the most recent nation to legislate medical marijuana.

The country’s health ministry is in substantial consultations with medical professionals, pharmacologists, legalization advocates, cancer clients and others about making cannabis treatments offered to individuals struggling with significant illnesses, and held the first public dispute about the subject on Sunday, according to Balkan Insight.

Last year, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton made headlines for taking real steps to decriminalize marijuana in the city, pledging to issue summonses for marijuana that operated like speeding tickets for amounts less than 25 grams and pledging to close a loophole by which people who were stopped and frisked could be given citations for displaying marijuana in public places. Data from the New York Post shows that while arrests have fallen, they still number in the tens of thousands and still occur largely on racial lines. According to Gothamist:

Texas veterans are pushing State lawmakers to legalize marijuana for certain medical uses.

The Corpus Christi chapter of "NORML", or the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has joined with other like-minded groups to support the effort.

They call it "Operation Trapped", so named because they feel veterans are trapped in a never ending system of pills prescribed to treat issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and chronic pain.

Attorney Kyle Hoelscher runs NORMLCC, and says drugs like "Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, and Xanax" come with serious side effects.

"It's (marijuana) an alternative that's safer, that has fewer negative side effects, but is completely banned by the VA," Hoelscher says.

TALLAHASSEE -- Calling the state's issuance of five medical marijuana cultivation licenses inadequate, advocates for patients and nurseries are redoubling their efforts to expand the list of ailments that qualify for treatment with low-potency marijuana.

A non-euphoric strain of marijuana popularly known as 'Charlotte's Web' has been found to effectively treat patients suffering from a severe form of epilepsy. Last year, the Florida Legislature legalized the use of the strain by those patients, as well as people diagnosed with cancer.

The holidays are upon us once again. When classes are out and the work week breaks into vacation, many of you will be making a pilgrimage back home to parents and family. This time of the year always reminds me of the day I took my first step out of the cannabis closet by telling my parents – my conservative, religious parents – that I used cannabis.

It is legal to sell marijuana in 23 states. But pot businesses can't deposit their money in banks because of federal banking laws. While the dilemma has been a back-burner issue in Congress for several years, a solution may be in the works.

A provision in the upcoming financial services spending bill would prevent the federal government from spending money on penalizing financial institutions that accept legal marijuana businesses as clients. That would greatly reduce the ability of federal agencies' to prosecute the banks.

About 30 minutes before our plane is scheduled to take off, Travis Maurer strolls up to the gate at Portland International Airport in shorts and flip-flops, flashing a square-jawed smile. Broad-shouldered and affable, Maurer looks like the perfect spokesman for any cause, and he deftly charms his way into a window seat. He’s just eaten some ice cream, he tells me as we board, and he’s in a surprisingly good mood for someone about to spend the next few hours in coach. A short while later, the plane lifts into the sky and Maurer falls asleep. The ice cream, it turns out, was laced with THC.